Fighting Cancer with Vitamins and Antioxidants PDF
Preview Fighting Cancer with Vitamins and Antioxidants
Contents Cover Image Title Page Foreword by Gabriel Kune, M.D. Preface: Why Should You Read This Book? Chapter 1 • Common Misconceptions about Cancer CONCLUDING REMARKS Chapter 2 • The Real Facts about Cancer INCIDENCE OF CANCER IN THE UNITED STATES WHAT ARE CANCER CELLS? CLASSIFICATION OF TUMORS MAJOR WARNING SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF CANCER HOW DO NORMAL CELLS BECOME CANCEROUS? FAMILIAL CANCER MISINTERPRETATION OF LABORATORY DATA ON CANCER-CAUSING SUBSTANCES FOR UMANS CONCLUDING REMARKS Chapter 3 • Free Radicals, Inflammation, the Immune System, and Antioxidants HISTORY, SOURCES, AND PRODUCTION OF FREE RADICALS INFLAMMATION THE IMMUNE SYSTEM HISTORY, SOURCES, AND ACTIONS OF ANTIOXIDANTS CONCLUDING REMARKS Chapter 4 • Mutagens and Carcinogens ENVIRONMENT-RELATED MUTAGENS AND CARCINOGENS EXAMPLES OF LIFESTYLE-RELATED CANCER-CAUSING SUBSTANCES EXAMPLES OF DIET-RELATED CANCER-CAUSING SUBSTANCES EXAMPLES OF DIET-RELATED CANCER PROTECTIVE AGENTS THE IMPACT OF THE DIFFERENCES IN THE ANIMAL DIET AND THE HUMAN DIET ON CANCERPREVENTION STUDIES IN HUMANS CONCLUDING REMARKS Chapter 5 • Diagnostic Doses of Radiation and Cancer HOW DOES RADIATION CONVERT NORMAL CELLS TO CANCER CELLS? CONCLUDING REMARKS Chapter 6 • Why Do Controversies Exist about Antioxidants in Cancer Prevention? MICRONUTRIENT CONTROVERSIES IN HUMAN CANCER PREVENTION EXAMPLES OF EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDIES ON ANTIOXIDANTS AND CANCER PREVENTION HOW TO RESOLVE THE PRESENT CONTROVERSIES CONCLUDING REMARKS Chapter 7 • Proposed Micronutrients and Lifestyle Recommendations AVOID EXPOSURE TO KNOWN ENVIRONMENTAL CARCINOGENS CHANGE DIETARY HABITS RECOMMENDED LIFESTYLE CHANGES ANTIOXIDANTS STIMULATE THE HOST’S IMMUNE SYSTEM GUIDELINES FOR SELECTING A MICRONUTRIENT PREPARATION RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A MICRONUTRIENT PREPARATION TAMOXIFEN AND MICRONUTRIENTS IN BREAST-CANCER PREVENTION RATIONALE FOR USING MULTIPLE MICRONUTRIENTS IN PROPOSED CANCERPREVENTIVE STRATEGY UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE PROPOSED MICRONUTRIENT PREPARATION INTERVENTIONAL TRIALS WITH MULTIPLE ANTIOXIDANTS ADDITIONAL BENEFITS OF FOLLOWING CANCERPREVENTION GUIDELINES CONCLUDING REMARKS Chapter 8 • Micronutrients in Combination with Radiation Therapy, Chemotherapy, and Experimental Therapies CANCER MORTALITY WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF CANCER THERAPY? BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS OF VARIOUS CANCER TREATMENTS PREVENTIVE AND THERAPEUTIC DOSE RANGE OF ANTIOXIDANTS IN HUMANS EFFECTS OF THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF INDIVIDUAL ANTIOXIDANTS ON GENE- EXPRESSION PROFILES IN CANCER CELLS EFFECTS OF PREVENTIVE DOSES OF INDIVIDUAL ANTIOXIDANTS ON GROWTH OF CANCER CELLS STUDIES ON THE EFFECTS OF THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF INDIVIDUAL ANTIOXIDANTS IN COMBINATION WITH STANDARD OR EXPERIMENTAL THERAPY ON GROWTH OF CANCER AND NORMAL CELLS EFFECTS OF THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF INDIVIDUAL ANTIOXIDANTS ON RADIATION- AND CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENT–INDUCED DAMAGE IN CANCER CELLS AND NORMAL CELLS ENHANCEMENT OF THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF X-IRRADIATION WITH THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF VITAMIN A AND BETACAROTENE ENHANCEMENT OF THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF X-IRRADIATION WITH THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF VITAMIN C ENHANCEMENT OF THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF X-IRRADIATION WITH THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF VITAMIN E AND SELENIUM ENHANCEMENT OF THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENTS WITH THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF VITAMIN A AND BETACAROTENE ENHANCEMENT OF THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENTS WITH THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF VITAMIN C ENHANCEMENT OF THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENTS WITH THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF VITAMIN E AND SELENIUM ENHANCEMENT OF THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENTS WITH THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF GLUTATHIONE-ELEVATING AGENTS (N- ACETYLCYSTEINE AND ALPHA-LIPOIC ACID) ENHANCEMENT OF THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENTS WITH THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF COENZYME Q10 ENHANCEMENT OF THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENTS WITH THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF A MIXTURE OF ANTIOXIDANTS ENHANCING THE EFFICACY OF STANDARD THERAPY ON CANCER CELLS WITH THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF INDIVIDUAL ANTIOXIDANTS RATIONALE FOR USING MULTIPLE MICRONUTRIENTS RATHER THAN A SINGLE ONE RATIONALE FOR NOT RECOMMENDING ANTIOXIDANT SUPPLEMENTS DURING STANDARD THERAPY ENHANCEMENT OF THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF EXPERIMENTAL THERAPEUTIC AGENTS WITH THERAPEUTIC DOSES OF ANTIOXIDANTS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DIET AND LIFESTYLE CHANGES CONCLUDING REMARKS Chapter 9 • Values of Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA)/ Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) RDA (DRI) ADEQUATE INTAKE (AI) TOLERABLE UPPER INTAKE LEVEL (UL) RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCES AND HEALTH CONCLUDING REMARKS Index Resources: Major Centers for Studies on Antioxidants and Cancer Further Reading About the Authors KEDAR N. PRASAD, PH.D. K. CHE PRASAD, M.S., M.D. About Inner Traditions • Bear & Company Copyright & Permissions Foreword Much has been achieved during the past fifty years in relation to the prevention and early detection of several cancers. For example, most lung cancers would not occur if nobody smoked, and many early and therefore curable breast cancers can now be detected by mammography, or early and eminently curable large-bowel cancers detected by colonoscopy. Similarly, advances in cancer treatment have resulted in the prolonged survival or even the cure of many whose outlook was previously regarded as poor. In spite of all this progress there are still many hurdles to jump in the successful prevention and treatment of many cancers. This is where Fighting Cancer with Vitamins and Antioxidants comes into the picture. The authors, a father-son duo of published scientists, lucidly describe the evidence and potential value of vitamins and several other micronutrient supplements in both the prevention and treatment of cancer. A major feature of this book is the clarity with which complex concepts, such as the immune system, antioxidants, free radicals, how supplements work, and carcinogens in our environment, lifestyle, and diet are explained. These concepts and terms are often quoted in popular literature without explanation, leaving many, especially lay readers, in the dark. Important to the authors’ approach is a reliance on scientific data and rational evidence. They emphasize the major distinction between the preventive and therapeutic approach to micronutrient use. They also believe that micronutrient supplements, used alone, are not a cure-all or panacea, but rather adjuncts to other strategies, such as diet in cancer prevention, and surgery, radiotherapy, or chemotherapy in cancer treatment. The misuse and risks of inappropriate micronutrient use are outlined in the book. The authors stress using supplements in conjunction with the advice of a physician or other relevant health professional, a policy I strongly support. In cancer prevention, the authors propose a strategy that combines the avoidance of exposure to environmental carcinogens such as smoking with a healthy diet and lifestyle changes including regular exercise and the daily use of multiple micronutrients, the nature and dosage of which is based on currently available data. Author Kedar N. Prasad is also an expert and published radiobiologist. Because of this expertise he has included an interesting and novel section on cancer risk after diagnostic doses of radiation, a relatively poorly researched field, especially when it comes to cancer prevention. In cancer prevention of this group of people, the authors propose the addition of antioxidants to currently practiced strategies of radiation dose reduction. The authors also mention the potential value of antioxidant use among other groups exposed to various forms of radiation, such as pilots, airline stewards, radiation and radiology workers, and even those who use cell phones heavily. Clearly, further research is needed. The place of micronutrient supplements as an adjunct to radiation, chemotherapy, or experimental treatments such as hyperthermia is the subject of controversy. Many oncologists and physicians believe that antioxidants and perhaps other supplements protect normal cells as well as cancer cells from radiation damage, thereby making such cancer treatment less effective than expected. The authors of this book, however, argue that there is sufficient scientific evidence to show that an appropriately dosed combination of multiple supplements protects normal body cells but not cancer cells, thereby decreasing the adverse side effects of radiation and possibly of chemotherapy. Important clinical research is needed to resolve this controversy, and the authors quite correctly suggest the conducting of well-designed intervention studies with the use of appropriately dosed multiple supplements. This book is clearly written and based on science and current data. It provides a stimulus for much-needed research in some unresolved areas of cancer prevention and cancer treatment. The book is an important contribution to the prevention and treatment of human cancers, and the role that micronutrient supplements play within it. GABRIEL KUNE, M.D., EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF SURGERY, THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA PREFACE Why Should You Read This Book? Despite extensive research on the role of diet, lifestyle, and antioxidants in cancer prevention, the incidence of cancer in the United States has increased from 1.2 million new cases per year only a decade ago to about 1.5 million cases per year in 2009. The current recommendation of consuming a diet rich in antioxidants, low in fat, and high in fiber, although very rational, has not had significant impact on reducing the incidence of cancer. Increased oxidative stress from the production of excessive amounts of free radicals, along with the effects of chronic inflammation, plays a major role in the initiation and progression of cancer. Micronutrients, especially antioxidants, have been shown to help ameliorate these effects; therefore, they have great potential for reducing the risk of cancer. Unfortunately, some clinical studies in which a single antioxidant was used in populations at high risk for developing cancer (such as heavy tobacco smokers), revealed an increased cancer risk in the antioxidant-treated group. These results have called into question the potential value of antioxidants in cancer prevention. This revised edition of Fighting Cancer with Vitamins and Antioxidants discusses the questions that have arisen from these studies and proposes solutions. The solutions include changes to the diet and lifestyle together with daily supplementation with a specific multiple-micronutrient preparation containing dietary and endogenous (made by the body) antioxidants for reducing the risk of cancer. The U.S. mortality rate from cancer has not changed significantly during the past several decades, in spite of extensive research and the development of new treatment methods and drugs. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 1950 the death rate from cancer was about 194 per 100,000. In 2006 this value was 180.7 per 100,000. The effectiveness of standard cancer treatment, which includes radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and surgery, has reached a plateau for many solid tumors. In addition, damage to normal tissue occurs during radiation and chemotherapy. While some therapies have been successful—reducing the risk of recurrence of breast cancer with tamoxifen, for example—there are often no effective strategies to reduce the risk of recurrence of the other primary tumors or the development of second cancers among cancer survivors. There are
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